Damn. If she didn’t want to talk about his suggestions, she sure as hell didn’t want to hear about the little black box tucked in his shirt pocket. He resisted the urge to pat the place where his grandmother’s engagement ring rested.
Instead of answering, Carly stared at her hands clasped on her desk in front of her. His dreams and hopes for their future withered before his eyes. How had he repeated history and again made a fool of himself with Carly?
It happened because he let his guard down. “We’re moving in different directions. You’ve decided to stay in Service, and I can’t. For the first time since I was fifteen, I can put myself first. I desperately need to do that.” She finally unclenched her hands, but then she started picking at her nail. “You’re a great guy, and we’ve had a wonderful time, but I was up-front when we started this. I told you I didn’t want a serious relationship.”
Great guy? Wonderful time? Ouch. Then to cover up the pain slicing through his chest, he laughed. The acidic sound burning his ears. “Seems to me you’re throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
“What’s that mean?”
“You’re so busy running, so damn scared, you’re throwing away everything and everyone. You haven’t considered what’s worth keeping or what it’s costing you. Do you really think a scenery change is all you need?”
“I have to see if there’s more than this. I don’t want to look back years from now and wonder if I missed out.”
“You don’t have a clue why you’re so set on leaving and pushing people away. But here’s a news flash, darlin’. You’re running because you’re scared of getting hurt or disappointed. And you know what that’s doing? It’s keeping you from seeing what’s great about the life you have.”
“How can I decide anything when this is all I know? I have to get away. I can’t breathe here. I can’t figure out who I am.”
“Then there’s nothing else to say.” He stood, praying his knees would hold until he left. “Thanks for the fun.”
He strode across the office. His boots clomping on the industrial tile floor echoed around him. The sound battered into him.
A minute later he returned to the house, and Ryder answered the door, the teen took one look at him, and asked, “You okay?”
Except for playing the fool for your sister again, sure, I’m great.
But, he’d survive. Or at least he hoped he would, as devastated as he was.
“I’m fine,” Owen said as he followed Ryder into the dining room, where papers and a calc textbook littered the dining room table.
“You sure, because you look like a housecat who’s gone two rounds with a bobcat?”
Owen almost laughed as he collapsed into the chair beside Ryder. He wouldn’t have guessed he looked that good. “How’d you do with those problems? Is there anything you had trouble with?”
“It’s Carly, isn’t it? What did she do?” Irritation and accusation dripped from the teenager’s voice.
Whether Ryder knew or not, he still needed his sister because when times would get tough, Carly would be there for him no matter what, despite what she’d said about commitments. Refusing to bad mouth Carly, he paused to think before speaking. “We decided to take a break for a while. Everything’s moved so fast for us, and both our lives are unsettled right now, but that has nothing to do with you.”
Ryder’s brow’s furrowed in concern. “You won’t let what happened with Carly keep you from coming to my graduation, will you? That is, if I pass calc.”
“Damn right I’ll be there, and no more of this if you pass calc crap. You’ll pass. I know it.” Owen patted the teenager on the back. He might not have a future with Carly, but he wouldn’t let that affect his friendship with Ryder. The kid needed someone he could rely on without question. “You can count on me. No matter what you need or when. You know that, don’t you?”
Ryder nodded. “I’m glad you two broke up. You’re too good for Carly.” If only Owen believed that.
*
As Carly hidin her office waiting for Owen to leave after his study session with Ryder, she refused to feel guilty over their breakup. He might not realize it, but what she’d done was best. Now they could both determine their futures without worrying how their choices affected their relationship. They’d make a clean break before they got more attached. Better now than having to wait for the implosion.
Despite her certainty, she felt as if she’d been thrown to the ground and then run over by a tractor. She scoffed. But then doing the right thing often wasn’t easy or painless.
She stood and paced her office, peering out the small door window on each lap. On the eleventh one, two figures stood in the driveway. Owen and Ryder. A minute later, Owen climbed in his truck and left. Instead of returning to the house as she expected, Ryder stalked toward the office.
She’d thought her night couldn’t get any worse. Wrong. As Ryder grew closer, she grabbed the doorknob, but her hand slipped. After wiping her palm on her jeans, she opened the office door and waited.
“What the hell did you say to Owen?” he demanded when he reached her. His hands fisted at his sides, anger rolled off him in waves, forcing her to step back.
“What did he tell you?”
“He’s too good a guy to bad mouth you. All he said was you two decided to take a break. But I know that’s crap. I know you dumped him.”
